The Law Reform Commission is inviting submissions from all interested parties on the Commission's Issues Paper on Section 117 of the Succession Act 1965: has a parent made proper provision for a child in his/her will?
The consultative paper examines section 117 of the Succession Act 1965, which provides that a child, including an adult child, of a deceased parent who has made a will can apply to court and claim that the parent failed in his or her “moral duty to make proper provision for the child” in accordance with the parent’s means during the parent’s lifetime. If the court agrees that the parent failed to comply with the duty to make proper provision for the child, it can make an order that adjusts the amount left to the child in the will and order that a different amount that the court thinks is proper should be made for the child out of the parent’s estate.
A number of difficulties have arisen in connection with the application of this law. The Issues Paper is seeking views on the following 5 issues:
1. Whether section 117 of the Succession Act 1965 should be repealed, retained as it is or amended; and if it is to be retained but amended whether to prescribe the matters to which the court should have regard in deciding whether to make an order under the section
2. Whether section 117 should be extended to permit applications by children of parents who have died intestate (that is, without having made a will)
3. Whether the 6 month time limit for applications under section 117 should be increased and/or whether the courts should have a discretion to extend it
4. Whether the date from which the time limit in section 117 begins requires clarification or reform
5. Whether the personal representatives of the deceased parent should be under a duty to inform children of their entitlement to make an application under section 117
See here for full text of the Issues Paper
See Link here for LRC details
